North Cave couple warn of adders following snake bite

The Buckingham family’s dog was put to sleep following a suspected adder bite last week.

A couple from North Cave are warning people about the possibility of adders when out walking with their pets.

They had to put down their three year old dog, Tara, at the weekend because of a suspected adder bite.

Her owner Steve says it all happened very quickly:

“We think she was probably bitten last Tuesday. She was limping on the Wednesday. Thursday she went to the vets for the second time. Unfortunately she had to be put to sleep on Saturday. She gave up the fight. Everything was just shutting down on her.”

Steve says at first they wasn’t sure what was wrong with her:

“The vet was thinking that [Tara] maybe just caught herself on something and got a slight cut, so she was looking at infection. It wasn’t until we took her back to the vets that adders was first brought up, and she mentioned that they were just coming out of hibernation now and they’re very aggressive.”

He says they had no idea snakes existed near them:

“I’ve taken her for walks in the same sort of fields area around North Cave where we live everyday, and the thought just never crossed my mind. If your dog’s very curious about something that’s in long grass, pull them back or call them back to you.”